A look at Big Island BBQ, opening Fri. in Liberty Lake

Some of the best dishes from the Pacific Islands are coming to Liberty Lake, by way of the menu at Big Island BBQ. They open to the public tomorrow morning at 8:00am but tonight we got sneak peek of their place.

I highly recommend, it’s a great carefree local establishment with delicious food. Fresh salads, juicy meats and friendly folks. These aren’t my best pictures, but here is a look at what to expect...

Find Big Island BBQ in Liberty Lake at 1235 N Liberty Lake Rd #109 . More info can be found on their website http://www.mybigisland.co

Homesick Candles introduces a candle that smells like Spokane?!? #notsponsored

It sounds like a joke, but yes, you can now make your home smell like Spokane. I mean you could also just open your window if you still live here but fresh air is overrated anyways.

But, judging by the candle companies name it's somewhat geared towards those who have left and are "homesick" . The Spokane candle is made by Homesick Candles, a growing company that's made a name for themselves selling candles that have scents of many different cities, states and even countries. There are even some that are supposed to have scents that bring back memories of holidays, special places and even special occasion's.

Homesick Candles are sold at $29.99 and are made in the US from all natural soy wax meant to burn for 60-80 hours.

So, according to Homesick Candles what does Spokane smell like? They describe it as...
" herbs and honeysuckle reminiscent of Centennial Trail hikes through the sunny side of the state. Home of 3 on 3 basketball. Notes of carnation to celebrate fathers around the world " .

If your interesting in smelling Spokane ( or Austin or France or one of dozens of other locations ) check them out at-
http://homesickcandles.com/collections/college-towns/products/spokane-candle

This is not sponsored, and I do not get anything off of the sales of their products. Just wanted to share...

STCU to build a new branch in Rathdrum

Spokane Teachers Credit Union ( STCU ) continues to grow. And, with Idaho residents making up a increasing percentage of their members, STCU has announced plans to open a new location in Rathdrum. This will be the credit union's 6th location in North Idaho
.

The new Rathdrum STCU branch will be a new construction building. With 3300 square feet at the SW corner of Hwy 41 and Vera St., directly across from Lakeland Junior High School. The new branch will feature drive through tellers, ATM access and all of STCU's services. The credit union says since their first 2 locations in Idaho opened in 2007 STCU's membership has doubled, with 15% of members coming from Idaho. This new location is a response to the growth which they expect to continue as the area grows.

The new branch in Rathdrum will be STCU's 24th location, including 2 newly opened branches in the Tri-cities. A third branch for the Tri-Cities market is expected to open later this year in Pasco. STCU was founded in 1934 and today has more then 190,000 members and $2.9 billion in assets.

For more information on STCU, visit- http://stcu.org

Construction starts for new Spokane Federal Credit Union / Revel 77 Coffee shared building in Spokane Valley

Earlier this week construction kicked off to renovate an existing building in Spokane Valley into a branch for a growing local credit union and a coffee shop. The building, which is at 13105 E. Sprague Ave. has been a mini mart and used car dealership in recent history and will be completely redone with an all new modern look. Design work for the project was done locally by HDG Architecture and construction will also be done locally with Baker Construction acting as the general contactor for the project.

They estimate to have the project done and the businesses open sometime around July of this year. Spokane Federal Credit Union will be the main tenant taking 2100 square feet. The new location will be staffed by about 3-4 employees trained in both member services and loans so no matter what the need, someone will be able to help.

This is Spokane Federal Credit Union's first location outside of the City of Spokane, currently they are based nearby the Spokane Arena at 601 W. Mallon Ave. . The Credit Union says they have heard members need for more access to banking in Spokane Valley and are excited to begin this project.

The remaining 1200 square feet of the building will be a new Revel 77 Coffee shop. This will be the second location for Revel 77 Coffee, which opened back in 2012 on the South Hill at 3223 E. 57th Suite K. The new Spokane Valley location will be similar to the South Hill store.

For more information on Revel 77 Coffee, visit- http://revel77.com

For more information on Spokane Federal Credit Union, visit- http://spokanefederal.com

Flatstick Pub to open in old Macy's Building in Downtown Spokane

Flatstick Pub, a Seattle based pub and restaurant has announced they will open in the remaining vacant street level space of The M building ( the former Downtown Macy's ) in Downtown Spokane. Flatstick Pub is a unique concept developed by Spokane natives Sam and Andy Largent. There locations are casual beer pubs that also feature a challenging 9 hole miniature golf course in the same place.

                            An example photo from one of Flatstick Pub's Seattle locations

In addition to the mini golf, customers can play a selection of golf themed games that we're invented by Flatstick. Those include Duffleboard, Cup Hunter, Stick Putt and 2 more new games set to debut with the opening of the Spokane location.

The Pub will have 30 taps pouring only locally made beer, cider and wine. The owners also will partner with Seattle based restaurateur Ethan Stowell to develop a cool new food menu. The entire place will be open to all ages until 7pm each day and they note it will even by dog friendly.

The Spokane Flatstick Pub is to open late this year, and they are also developing another location in Tacoma that will open around the same time. Currently they operate 3 very popular locations in the Pioneer Square and South Lake Union neighborhoods of Seattle and one in Kirkland. The company was founded in 2014 and has grown quickly, as is expected of such a cool and unique concept. They also are excellent community partners, giving $140,000 to charites in 2018 and they plan to continue donating in the each of the areas they operate.

For more info on Flatstick Pub, check them out online at- http://flatstickpub.com

Donut Parade to re-open!

There have been some rumors lately that the Spokane landmark, The Donut Parade, might be reopening. And, now our friends over at KREM 2 News have confirmed this and they even have the scoop on what the newly revamped Donut Parade will include. Even though it sounds like it will still be largely the same as before!

Here’s there story from the KREM 2 YouTube page, we’ll try to get a story of our own closer to when they open.

At Home to open a store in Coeur d' Alene

Soon the At Home chain will have 2 places to call home in the Inland Northwest. Earlier this year it was confirmed that At Home will be opening in a part of the former N. Division Costco building. That store is supposed to open sometime around April of this year and will soon after be joined by a Texas Roadhouse and another yet to be named tenant.


But, that won't be the only store in our area for the Texas based chain. The company will also begin construction soon to convert the former Kmart store in Coeur d' Alene into another At Home store. The store will occupy the entire building, meaning the store will be about 87,400 square feet or a similar size to the planned Spokane store. The Coeur d' Alene store will open sometime later this year, we will update when we know a more exact date.


Improvements will also be done to the site, including a full renovation of the area that was Kmart's garden center. That space will not be part of the At Home store but will instead be a multi tenant commercial space for retail and restaurants. The main building will also be largely updated.


At Home is a Plano,TX based chain of big box stores that carry over 50,000 unique items including furniture, garden, housewares, rugs, home décor and a lot of seasonal merchandise. They consider themselves " The Home & Holiday Décor Superstore ". They are adding new stores rapidly but a recent count showed them at about 600 stores. These will be the first At Home stores to come to our area however.


For more information on At Home, check out their website at- http://athome.com

Spokesman Review to relocate printing operations to Spokane Valley

Soon the Spokesman Review will no longer be printed in Downtown Spokane, like it has been for so many years. The Spokesman's owner Cowles Co. recently announced that all printing will be shifted to a new facility in the 19000 block of E. Euclid, close to the Spokane Business & Industrial Park. The move will likely happen around the end of the year with all 70+ employees keeping their jobs.

The new Spokane Valley Spokesman Review facility will also house a newly purchased smaller, more versatile printing press. The hope is that they can expand their outside printing contracts as the new press is able to print more efficiently and at times in smaller batches.

A key part of the Spokesman's move is freeing up the prime Downtown spaces for new uses. Currently the Spokesman Review is printed a huge 168,000 square foot building on Monroe St, just steps away from some of Spokane's best shops and dining. They say the building could be easily converted into breweries, restaurants or retail. Although there are no plans set just yet as the facility will still be printing the newspaper throughout much of 2019.

Shopko to close remaining Spokane / Valley stores

A couple of weeks ago Green Bay,WI based Shopko filed for bankruptcy. And, while the retail chain expects to continue operating they have added several more stores to their planned closure list, including all of the remaining Spokane area stores.

Here are the Spokane Shopko stores set to close and their estimated last day-

4515 S Regal - March 2nd ( store closure announced earlier this year)

9520 N Newport Hwy - May 5th

13414 E Sprague - May 12th

At this point the Shopko store in Coeur d’ Alene appears to be unaffected. No word on what may replace any of these stores.

Wild Birds Unlimited to open on the South Hill

Wild Birds Unlimited is coming to Spokane with a new franchise location opening soon. The new store will be opening sometime this Spring and will be a tenant at the Lincoln Heights shopping center on 29th.

Wild Birds Unlimited actually already has several locations in the region, including one in Coeur d' Alene, but this will be the chain's first Spokane location.

Wild Birds Unlimited is a growing Indiana based retail chain with over 300 stores in the US and Canada. Their stores sell a large selection of bird seed, bird feeders and other bird related supplies.

For more info on Wild Birds Unlimited, visit their website at http://wbu.com

Dutch Bros coming to Airway Heights

The rumors are true! Dutch Bros. Coffee is coming to Airway Heights!

The location will be the 10th in the Spokane area and will open sometime this Summer. It will be located at the corner of US 2 and Deer Heights Rd. nearby the Village Center Cinema movie theater.

Rut to open where Picabu Bistro once was

Sadly Picabu Bistro closed for good around the first of the year. But already we're learning a new restaurant will be opening soon in the same space at 901 W. 14th on the Lower South Hill.

Watch for a new restaurant called Rut , opening sometime around mid-march . The new place will be considered " New American " as well as Vegan / Vegetarian . The menu isn't set yet but it will focus on seasonal plant based dishes and craft cocktails.

Watch for more on Rut in the coming weeks. They say a website is coming but for now more info can be found on their Facebook page at- http://www.facebook.com/rutspokane

Multicare Health System opens patient access center near the Airport

In an effort to make their services more accessible to the their patients, Multicare Health System has opened a new patent access center in a office building nearby the Spokane International Airport.

The new office is a call center with about 40 employees and is located at 1628 S. Windsor Dr, a former Group Health office building that has been vacant for awhile now. The Multicare patient access center allows patients to schedule appointments and inquire about a number of other patient needs.

Multicare explains " This center will help connect patients with their healthcare providers in a timely manner , aiming to provide fast, efficient service to keep your hold times at a minimum " .